Subroto Bagchi. | Photo Credit: File photo Subroto Bagchi, chairman of Karnataka’s Vision Group for Skill Development, called for an immediate overhaul of India’s vocational ecosystem on Wednesday (November 4), warning that the nation cannot become a developed economy without addressing systemic wage disparity, class prejudice, and the severe underrepresentation of women in technical trades.Speaking at the Bengaluru Skill Summit, Mr. Bagchi, who also co-founded IT firm Mindtree, urged stakeholders to transition from statutory minimum wages to “sustainable wages” for skilled labourers.He noted that while the Karnataka government mandated a monthly minimum wage of ₹19,000-20,000 for semi-skilled workers back in 2016, entry-level Industrial Training Institute (ITI) graduates today are routinely paid starkly lower rates of ₹8,000 to ₹12,000, often through cash-only deals with small and medium enterprises that strip away long-term benefits.Mr.
Bagchi pointed to Silicon Valley, where specialised vocations like nurse anaesthetists earn more than computer scientists at the entry level. He pointed to Japan, where the wage gap between an entry-level worker and a general manager stood at a balanced 1:6 ratio, in contrast with India’s wage differential, which he described as “1 to the power of infinity”.Bringing mindset under scrutiny, Mr.
Bagchi condemned the pervasive middle-class habit of labeling household helps as “servant maids” and lamented the persistent stigma that treats vocational institutions as destinations only for youth who have “gone astray”.“The policy changes and government funding will ultimately fail unless society fixes how it values the skilled worker,’’ he cautioned.A major bottleneck identified at the summit was the deep information asymmetry between available elite vocational facilities and the public. Mr.
Bagchi noted that while major general degree programmes boast over 50% female enrolment, female participation in ITIs and polytechnics remains stubbornly in the single digits. Published - November 05, 2026 12:50 am IST